“Is that true?”
Rubens could hardly believe Franklin’s report and blurted out the question.
He never imagined that Auraniess had already been resurrected long ago.
“Yes, what shall we do?”
Rubens pondered Franklin’s question for a considerable time before answering.
“It cannot be helped. First, crush Berganda.”
“Yes, and after that, where should we go?”
Franklin asked in a tone as if a mother was asking her child what they wanted to eat.
Rubens’s reply was equally casual.
“All the countries adjacent to Berganda. Conquer and destroy them.”
“Understood.”
Rubens sighed after this exchange, which was extremely dangerous for humanity.
Auraniess was an unparalleled and carefree being, but this turn of events was completely unforeseen.
Honestly, he had been relying on Auraniess’s power to fight Marius, but he had anticipated the possibility of her not cooperating.
That’s why Rubens was acting separately from Albert and the others, bringing Gerik and Mergen with him.
“I never imagined that Lady Auraniess would already be resurrected…”
“She could have at least informed us.”
Mergen and Gerik spoke in turn. Both were visibly bewildered.
“That’s just how Lady Auraniess is. Her close attendants Sofia and Iris were always at her whim too.”
Rubens’s words contained not just exasperation, but also a hint of nostalgia.
Demon Sofia and Demon Iris were high-ranking demons serving as Auraniess’s attendants, and Rubens knew them by sight.
He hadn’t heard that either of them had been defeated, so perhaps they were the ones who resurrected their master.
It seemed unlikely that informing Rubens beforehand would have been an option for them.
Even though he knew them, they only exchanged a few words when they met; they weren’t close enough to actively exchange information or act together.
Whether to reveal the unsealing of the seal was entirely up to Auraniess’s mood at the time.
He understood that much.
“She is probably on another continent… because this continent is safe.”
Rubens made this conclusion with a rather grim reasoning.
Auraniess’s terror and strength were beyond words.
Although his plan had gone awry, Rubens didn’t show it and addressed Gerik and Mergen, who were waiting for instructions.
“As planned, we will enter Filat after Franklin and the others move.”
“Yes.”
They were heading to Hordia to revive Decarabia and were currently in Ranleo.
Travelers were supposed to be screened when crossing borders, but the three of them passed through with flying colors.
It would be cruel to blame the soldiers on duty for being oblivious.
Gerik possessed a skill for disguise that even his family and close friends couldn’t detect, and Rubens and Mergen were using Magic Items for their disguises.
A master mage might have noticed something amiss, but such individuals were not typically assigned to border control in human nations.
Neither Marius nor anyone else would have expected demons to dutifully cross national borders.
Of course, this was humiliating for demons, but Rubens had no intention of outsmarting humanity.
He had reasoned that if they passed through Filat using conventional methods, there would be a risk of being detected by Marius or Zofi.
While Gerik, whose role included becoming human, had no issue, Mergen seemed somewhat dissatisfied but was not so foolish as to not understand the danger posed by Marius, so he said nothing.
Even though he knew the possibility of Marius being present was low, Rubens used Franklin and the others as a diversion for safety’s sake.
It was a humiliation for Rubens, who cared about his comrades.
After ending his call with Rubens, Franklin turned to his companions.
He had already met up with them before making the call.
“First, we’re to crush Berganda, and then attack all adjacent nations.”
Rebera whistled, and Gastark clapped his hands in joyous expression.
These were uncharacteristically aggressive orders compared to before.
“Mr. Rubens is quite aggressive, isn’t he? …Well, I’d had enough of holding back, so I don’t mind.”
Albert felt a moment of doubt but quickly dismissed it.
He was as short-tempered and aggressive as Rebera.
In fact, the calm and level-headed Franklin and Pal were the minority.
“I’m going to be busy.”
Gastark also bristled with fighting spirit.
The thought of his undead soldiers rampaging through human nations was exhilarating just to imagine.
Only Pal maintained his usual expressionless facade, but his eyebrows suddenly twitched.
“Franklin-sama, Albert-sama.”
The two high-ranking demons understood the implication of his call. A large group was approaching them from a distance.
In all likelihood, it was human soldiers who had sensed the anomaly.
“Yes, they’ve come at just the right time.”
“Haa, shall we carve them up?”
The ominous aura of the two usually calm demons intensified.
“Crushing a whole nation takes time if we’re slow. We’ll do it too, but you don’t mind, right?”
Albert was asking primarily Rebera and Gastark.
Unable to refuse what was effectively an order, the two nodded.
“Alright, then have the zombies stand down. Franklin and I will handle this.”
Albert flashed a menacing grin.
Pal, Rebera, and Gastark, who didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire, promptly retreated within the castle gates.
The regular Berganda army was approaching from a distance.
“Franklin, shall we have a competition to see who kills more?”
Franklin, presented with this outrageous proposal, raised one eyebrow.
“I don’t mind, but please count carefully. You’re always so careless.”
Albert, though with a slight pout that sounded almost like a scolding, nodded.
“I know. It’s no fun to win by cheating.”
Franklin trusted Albert on that point.
Despite being careless, disorganized, improvisational, and short-tempered, he wasn’t the type to cheat his comrades.
“Hey, are you praising me or something?”
Franklin replied with a gentle smile to Albert’s question.
“You are a comrade I can trust. Isn’t that enough?”
“…I feel like I was deflected, but oh well.”
Albert knew he couldn’t win an argument with Franklin. He quickly gave up and turned towards the Berganda army.
“We’ll attack simultaneously and fairly, okay?”
“Indeed.”
The Berganda army finally seemed to notice the demons, slowing their march about a kilometer away, but it was already too late.
They had entered the attack range of Albert and Franklin.
Albert channeled all his magic power and thrust his right fist forward, like a punch.
The shockwave released from his fist sliced through the air with a sound like tearing fabric, striking the Berganda army.
The Berganda army had no idea what had happened.
The sound reached them simultaneously with their comrades being blown away.
Albert’s signature move, “Sonic Shot,” is based on the principle of “long-range striking” in human martial arts.
He projects his channeled magic power to defeat enemies without touching them.
However, the power and range were completely different from human techniques.
Albert’s race, the Griffin, is a magical beast adept at transforming magic power into shockwaves.
Franklin, on the other hand, used standard human magic.
“Shall we try a bit of synthesis? 【Inferno】【Clay Assault】【Plasma Storm】”
“Inferno,” a combination of dark and fire magic; “Clay Assault,” a combination of earth and water magic; and “Plasma Storm,” a combination of fire and lightning magic, are all considered first-class spells, bordering on Forbidden Spells.
Despite being unleashed without incantation, they displayed immense destructive power, and Franklin remained unfazed, not even breaking a sweat.
Berganda soldiers were engulfed in black flames, swept away by torrents of earth and stone, and vaporized by plasma.
Franklin’s race, the Sphinx, is an exception among monsters, excelling in magical attacks utilizing superior intelligence and immense magic power.
A Demon, let alone a high-ranking Demon, could easily overwhelm even a united group of human master mages.
The twenty thousand strong Berganda army that had come to rescue the imperial capital was annihilated with ease.
…Several days later, the name of the Berganda Empire would be erased from history.
For this nation to be saved, the power of a true Demon was simply too overwhelming.
While the demon army began to wreak havoc in the east, the combined forces of Misra, Barshark, and Vester were making swift progress in the west.
Although they failed to capture the border fortresses, they were gradually bringing the surrounding cities under their control, and victory celebrations were already beginning to spread in their home countries.
Queen Jessica of Barshark and President Frederick of Misra did not deny this, prioritizing their own prestige.
The weak resistance from the Hordia side was surprisingly low, with many attributing it to the chaos caused by domestic reforms.
Neither Jessica nor Frederick harbored much suspicion.
Humans were prone to mistakes, and in systems where everything was decided by one person, like Asteria, irreparable blunders could occur.
They surmised that their subordinates, even if they foresaw the possibility of failure, likely could not offer counsel against it.
Incidentally, this assumption was not entirely incorrect.
Asteria did not purge those who offered advice but did not adopt it to change her policies.
However, the united forces were not entirely smooth sailing either.
They encountered issues with their plan as they were unable to engage in any looting; nor could they acquire any slaves or valuables to sell, necessitating a revision of their strategy.
Without any inhabitants, there was no prospect of tax revenue or agricultural yields, and with the ongoing war, merchants and travelers were scarce.
To secure revenue, it would be necessary to have people from their home countries settle there.
However, they hesitated to go that far without dealing a fatal blow to Hordia.
If Hordia were to counterattack, there was a risk of civilian casualties, not just military ones, and that was something they wished to avoid at all costs.
For this reason, there was a strong desire to “deal a blow to the Hordia army quickly.”
And thus, the dispatch of reinforcements was decided.
This was why Chandler clicked his tongue and Garet wrung his hands.
Randle was slightly better off compared to the others, as King Johnson, despite his joy, maintained a cautious stance.
However, within his own country, a proactive approach was beginning to gain more traction than caution, which was not an entirely good sign.
Barshark and Misra were displeased with merely occupying cities.
Although the king possessed absolute authority, Johnson was too proud to remain indifferent to being disappointed or considered incompetent.
“Give Randle orders to secure the valuable parts properly.”
Thus, with a slight time lag, Randle joined the ranks of the other two generals.
“Is this a strategy to create a gap in understanding between the front lines and headquarters?”
Chandler asked Garet and Randle, thinking that the three of them were rapidly becoming good friends.
“And then, is it a stratagem to sow discord? Unlikely, but would they really sacrifice their own territory for such a thing?”
Randle, after drinking his bean soup, responded with rare sincerity.
“Well, if the relationship between us and headquarters deteriorates, another general will simply be sent. Of course, there’s a possibility that our chances against that general would increase…”
Garet, while biting into a chicken skewer, tilted his head.
Ultimately, no conclusion was reached that day either. They dispersed after promising to exchange information regularly and not to neglect reconnaissance.
They were unaware of the anomaly occurring in the east at this time.
In other words, they had missed the golden opportunity to retreat to their home countries.
